Check THIS out!

My new favorite blog is called "Unearthed Adventures" by my two friends Kristin and Debbie. Their love for dirty, inanimate, and discarded objects rivals my obsession with my backyard and chickens (which is saying a whole lot more than you think - last night I played ultimate frisbee with a chicken hat on my head for 3.5 hours. Yes, that's right I telling you here and now, I had my head up a chicken's ass. More on this soon.) Anyways, check out their stories of reviving art that never knew it could be art, getting by on thrift shop purchases no one wanted, and racy tales of curbside porn...

Sonoran Desert Museum

This was to be a much longer post, but then my computer got grumpy and slow, like me in the morning, so this is what I got for now. This is from Mari and my visit to the Desert Museum just on the other side of the Tucson Mountains on Sunday morning. The desert was in full bloom and we had ice cream as we dreamt about all the wildflowers we would plant in the fall. That is, until church got out, people woke up, and all the hordes of fanny pack wearing, khaki-clad, tourists showed up, so we left.

How did you use your extra day?

Well it's the day that mostly does not exist. At least 75% of the time. I hope you used it well and didn't squander it like all the rest of your days with so much laziness and sloth. I know I didn't. In fact I just got back from stuffing myself at my favorite local Mexican restaurant, El Minuto, with more abandon than usual simply because it was an extra, special day. And now I have updated Chicken Diction. (Whew.) All very important things. Don't you think that we should all be paid overtime for working an extra day this year? Time and a half is definitely our due, I say. Tonight I think I will cut my hair. Wow. What would I have ever done without an extra day like this. This is your day to make a difference. Don't frack it up. That's right, I'm addicted to Battlestar Galactica, and I'm not afraid to say it. And I'll use my extra day however I please.

Happy Leap Year Day from an old The Who poster!

News of a planting.

We got all excited and busy today, mixed up some compost with the soil, dug some little trenches and dropped in some seeds. Now some of you might say that February 10 is pretty early to be putting seeds in the ground. And you have every right to say that. But we still did it and I can't wait to see everything grow. Here is the list of what we planted and seeded today in no particular order...

Chives
Green Zebra Tomatoes
Big Red Cherry Tomats
Bull nose bell peppers
Miniature yellow bell peppers
Lettuce Mix
Arugula
Kale
Silverbeet (Chard)
Radishes
Purple Basil
Thai Basil
Sweet Basil (there is never enough basil)
Jalepeno peppers
Black Hungarian peppers
Cantelope (Amish melon)
Yellow Hopi Watermelon (actually a few days ago)
Rocoto hot peppers (from Peru)
Egg plant
Mint
Spearmint
Double yield Cucumbers
Empress Green Beans

I also spread a ton of grass seed I had collected from hiking and other random places in the back behind my fence along with some wildflowers and other stuff just to see if it will grow or not.

Then we watered in all the seeds we planted and I sat there wishing I could see it pop up then and there. The tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are only seeded and will have to be transplanted in a few weeks or more. You should all come over in a couple months and I will cook you some food from the backyard!

Thanksgiving and the Desert Museum

I have been meaning to put up some pictures from when my parents were here in Tucson over Thanksgiving and somehow leaving the country for three weeks keeps one pretty occupied, and since I know that everyone is pretty tired of that Mary Oliver poem staring them in the face I thought a short trip to the not-so-distant-past would be a welcome change. My dad and I spent the weekend laying down flagstone underneath the ramada and then we all ate a huge thanksgiving dinner outside followed by an evening by the chimenea. The next day we went to the nearby Desert Museum to check out the cacti and other desert life. If you haven't ever gone, you should definitely make a trip out there and see what the desert holds...

Me, Mari, and my way hip parents. Seriously, they're awesome.

Mom and me.

"Yes Dad, you look a little funny with that camera case right there."

Aloe.

Sunlight.

Agave shadows.

Mari says hello.

November rain.

Yesterday morning I woke up to the sound of water dribbling down the ABS pipe along the house that leads to the cistern. This was a new sound, and as a homeowner (especially early in the morning) new sounds are by definition suspicious. I sat up very startled, and was quickly calming myself, satisfied that everything was going where it was supposed to and indeed making all the right noises according to their little water paths - I had just never heard these things before.

So today, I googled images for "chicken" and "rain" and this snapshot of Don, Jim, Bob, Alva, and Bud is one of the photos I got. Not exactly what I was looking for - I have never met those five hefty, mountain men, but I am sure they had a good time eating the chicken if the rain didn't keep the fire at bay.

I am really writing because I could barely contain my excitement that it is actually raining and the water catchment tank is filling up (slowly as there is really only a light drizzle here and there). This morning I could even turn on the spigot to find free, untainted agua pouring out. This is all very exciting as the cistern has now lost its catchment virginity of sorts. I also saw a little toad between the aloe patch and the cover crop I have planted in the summer beds. I always take it as a good sign that random little creatures live in the yard - unless they are feral cats going after the chickens (there's at least one that I regularly am forced to throw rocks at) or hundreds of swallows making off with free chicken feed (I'm thinking a scarecrow?).

And with the rain, the gutters have not fallen off (though there are a few places I will have to seal up), the tank hasn't fallen over, and the plants in the basins look very content with their new found locations. According to all the weather websites and forecasters, there is a 100% chance of rain for the rest of the day and night, into tomorrow. For anyone who knows anything about Tucson, saying that it will rain with such certainty is nearly unheard of, and tantamount to saying something like Dick Cheney is going to have another heart attack, take his shiny, black helmet off, and beg forgiveness just like he did in Star Wars - don't get our hopes up if it isn't absolutely true.

Well at least it's raining.

Tragedy continued.

Well they identified the young man who was shot and killed near my house. Manuel Fimbres-Moreno was 26. He will always be 26. I did not know Manuel - at least that I know of. But I am terribly saddened by his murder and cannot begin to imagine the pain of his family.

They arrested someone on suspicion of killing him. The kid they arrested is 21. Certainly it is not proven that he is responsible, but undoubtedly prison is in his future given the broken beyond repair system of injustice. For me it is simply a furtherance of a terrible tragedy. But this time, more than ever we will be complicate in what takes place as the tax payer funded "justice" system will do everything possible to ensure that no rehabilitation will ever take place.

Are we now safer that a young man will spend years in prison learning how to be more violent, less feeling, possibly drug addicted, and completely removed from his family? And when he returns to our community (96 percent of all Arizona prisoners do) will he have any better idea how to positively impact the people around him? Or will he be hardened, broken, and lacking any real understanding of what responsibility would actually mean in a situation like this? Will he ever have a chance at anything different than just that? These are questions I ask myself, but are never asked when laws are passed and people punished. Whatever happens to this young man, will we as a community be better for the judgment that is made on his life? I am positive we will not. This makes the tragedy of last Wednesday evening even that more horrendous.

Tucson police identify man who was fatally shot last week...

Catching Water: Day 2

Day 2 was oh-so-satisfying I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. Even before 5pm the backyard looked totally transformed with the cistern all finished and sealed, and two whole basins lined with rocks, planted, and mulched. Everyone worked fabulously and seemed to enjoy the whole day. Before I knew it, time was up and we had accomplished way more than I had anticipated. Planting native flowers and grasses is so instantly gratifying, especially here in the desert where greenery is sparse and plant life certainly more subtle. (For great help and a wide selection of native plants visit Desert Survivors.)

Because things went so smoothly I have very little in the way of photo documentation during the bulk of the day's work. The work mostly included extending PVC pipe to the spigot, cutting inside ABS pipe to length within the cistern, and ensuring that the basin was deep enough to accommodate overflow from the ABS overflow line. Enough technical details. Here are the photos.

This is Basin 1. It is actually not for the water cistern but will be fed by a gutter system off the shop roof.

Working, digging, planting, supervising on Basin 2 that will receive overflow water from the cistern.

Still working on Basin 2. The river rocks along the edge help to prevent erosion.

There is a lot of standing around happening in this picture, but consider it similar to one of those moments when suddenly there is silence among a large group of people - before, it was really chaotic, but for that moment it seems calm and ordered. Either way, we got heaps done.

Everything is sealed, sawn, and ready to get filled with water - as soon as we take the ladder out.

Local food you should eat.

For all of you in Tucson and looking for a little incentive to visit a local farmer's market, here is a fabulous little clip that aired on Channel 12 about the Santa Cruz River Farmer's Market about five blocks north of my house and the University Farmer's Market. They are just some of the many gems here in the downtown area of Tucson. Hopefully you can find the chance to make it to one or the other of these places. Oh yeah, Mari and I happen to be on a few of the clips at the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market...

Tragedy.

Last night an unidentified young man was was shot and killed on the street about four houses down from mine. It happened right after Riley and I left for ultimate frisbee practice. Mari heard at least five shots. No one knows who this person is, nor who shot him, other than he drove away in a white truck. I'm not sure what to say about this other than it is a tragedy. This morning I walked down the street and lit a candle by the blood stains in the road. That is all I can think to do right now. But somewhere, a young man didn't come home last night, and another has blood on his hands. I guess we all do in some way. So please, take a moment, and do something thoughtful, something kind.

"Rage. Rage against the dying of the light." - Dylan Thomas

Barrio Brew Co. - and chickens of course.

Me and some friends had probably more than enough fun at a new brewery, Barrio Brew Co. this evening and I happened to have a camera along. So here are some photos you may or may not enjoy, that entail our own personal inspiration and imitations of my chickens. You'll probably know which are which, but in case you are easily confused I have added some subtitles to explain the inspiration and imitations...

To the left.

To the right.

Me and Dave - partial.

We were number 78. They're sticklers about numbers.

Uppy after I told her to think of some neuroscience word I currently can't remember. She enjoyed it though.

At some point I told Dave to be serious, but he didn't do that well, so I told him to pretend one of his rats had died. I don't think this is the picture though.

Debbie's failed attempt at seriousness.

Riley thinking he is in GQ magazine. Really.

This is my "fuck the man" pose. This is why revolutions fail - too much cynicism, not enough gruffness.

Uppy doing "chicken".

Dave, definitely doing "chicken".

Look at me. I'm a chicken.

Wait. Debbie is a chicken too.

All Souls' Procession

Every year in Tucson, the All Souls' Procession walks the streets of downtown in a funky, eclectic array of creativity and quirky-ness that really is the epitome of this town. It was last night and a group of about 20 of us walked together to remember the people in Arizona prison's long-term solitary confinement units (as a part of the StopMax Arizona Campaign that I coordinate). The procession culminates with music, floats, and performance art all in order to burn a giant urn with hopes and memories from the year from the people of Tucson. This year they were hoping for 12,000 people. I don't know how many were there, but it was big and fun. Unfortunately I don't have any picks of the amazing floats, masks, or puppets that were everywhere. But here is some of the group that we walked with, and below, is the urn about to go up in flames.

Catching Water: Preview.

In about one week, with the help and guidance of Watershed Management Group, we will be installing a ~540 gallon water cistern at the northeast corner of the house. The purpose is the capture the run-off from the east side of the house during the monsoon seasons (and any other time it might happen to rain, but let's face it, it barely rains ever). Then with the stored water I will be able to water plants, trees, veggies, and keep the chickens thirst satiated. Pseudo-famous water catching local gurus like Brad Lancaster will say that this water is free, but he is wrong. I know. I just spent all day running all over town making numerous purchases for this catchment tank, including the 7 foot long, 4 foot diameter culvert that will be used on its end as a cistern, and it is anything but free. Though that is not to say it is not worth it. I have ogled other peoples' catchment tanks in the neighborhood with salavating lips, and googly-eyes ever since I closed on this house. For some people it is speedy cars, and others fall for sex appeal in passers-by - but for me, it is hot bikes and large catchment tanks that cause me to strain my neck while looking them up and down. I know, but it's hard out there for an urban farmer...

Well to give you all an idea of what we will be installing come next weekend, here is a diagram I shamelessly stole from a local business website that also installs these cisterns. This is pretty much what we will be doing over the course of two Sunday afternoons in November, minus the hard work, sweat equity, and moments of confusion and cursing. Have no fear, I will be sure to post real pictures of the installation process once it takes place. Meanwhile, have sweet sweet dreams of your own water catching fantasies...

Patagonia, Arizona.

This weekend, Mari, Megan, and I went down to the Native Seeds farm in Patagonia, Arizona (south of Tucson near the Mexico border). It was the fall harvest "festival" which basically means that we are supposed to feel good about helping to harvest the corn and stomp the beans, and Native Seeds gets to feel good about us giving them free labor. But since Mari used to work there and my brother, Chris still does, we thought it would be nice to go down and spend the morning shucking corn and brushing ear wigs from our shoulders to be rewarded by an unknown quality of potluck lunch. Also, we happen to think that Native Seeds is a pretty vital organization in the face of mono-culture crops and genetically modified seeds with all sorts of craziness and undetermined dangers. On top of all of that, it was a perfect reason to squeeze into my beat-up, sometimes running, and always dirty pickup truck and take an hour long cruise south through the Sonoran Desert to a 60 acre farm with a perfect view of Mt. Wrightson in the Santa Rita mountain range. It was a good opportunity to give my brother a hard time and throw dried up, mice eaten, corn cobs at each other while talking about how we were clearly the best volunteers at the Native Seeds harvest festival.

The "indispensable" gator at the farm.

Seed collection system.

Post fetish #1.

A critical mass of gourds.

Post fetish #2, with Mt. Wrightson in the back left.

Cactus flower.

Just because there are only pictures of chickens so far. And besides, chickens like flowers too.